Spiders today are among those insects that can simultaneously be called very small and the largest. There are no analogues to such amazing creatures in nature - this is especially true for their method of hunting, namely, weaving webs. Species of spiders today are very numerous - there are about forty thousand of them, of which about three thousand live in Russia. Indeed, among the majority today it is customary to call these creatures insects, however, in fact, they form a completely separate order and class - arachnids, and belong to the type of arthropods.

Specifically, spiders can be separated from insects by different signs. For example, they do not have six legs, like the first ones, but eight, and also have forelimbs equipped with poisonous claws, which are called “chelicerae”. It is with the help of them that they immobilize and kill the victim caught in their skillfully woven network. In our country, there are no deadly spiders for people; the maximum that can be obtained in response to such an encounter is a bite, burning and pain. In addition, the spider never attacks large objects first.

Arachnids weave their webs with the help of arachnoid warts, which are located on their abdomens - there are three pairs of them. Spider digestion is interesting - it is called extraintestinal. Let's say, for comparison: a predatory mantis, having caught a fly, chews it and swallows it. The spider acts differently: it injects poison and digestive enzymes, and after two hours the caught victim turns into a ready-made “soup” that the hunter can simply drink. And one more interesting fact: the web of these creatures is surprisingly strong. If the web is made as thick as a pencil, then a real plane can crash into it and not damage it.

The world's largest spider

Most of us have actually encountered very small spiders that pose virtually no danger to humans, despite the fact that in many they still evoke a persistent feeling of disgust and even fear. lives not with us, in tropical forests Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Single specimens of these giants were found in Brazil and Venezuela. This creature is called Theraphose Blond(in Latin - Theraphosa blondi) or simply tarantula Goliath. The body length of these small monsters reaches nine centimeters, and the limb span is 26-28 centimeters. In other words, such a spider can be the size of a dinner plate.

Belonging to the Goliath family of tarantulas, it was caught in 1965 near a village in Venezuela - its paws reached a length of 28 centimeters. For this he was included in the Guinness Book of Records. The discovery was made during an expedition led by Pablo San Martin. As for tarantulas bred in captivity, such an individual belongs to Brian Barnett: today it is over two years old, weighs 170 grams and also has a leg span of 28 centimeters. In general, Teraphosis Blond is very rare in the collections of private spider breeders. The fact is that for reproduction and proper maintenance of individuals, special conditions, as close as possible to natural ones, including seasonal weather changes. Therefore, Goliaths breed very rarely in captivity. In addition, it is prohibited to export it from many countries where this species lives.

Most big spider Theraphosa has a dark brown body and paws - all covered with small hairs. The spider prefers to live in deep burrows, which it makes itself, and lines the entrance with its own web. Tarantulas do not feed on birds at all, as some mistakenly believe, but on frogs, mice, toads, lizards and sometimes even small snakes. Goliath does not hunt with the help of a web, but builds ambushes, quickly jumping on the victim and injecting poison. The tarantula's reaction is lightning fast - from its slow movement it is quite difficult to guess this in advance if you have not seen the spider in the hunt before.

Blonde's serious competition is biggest spiders from the family Sparassidae. One such spider was accidentally found in the basement of one of the major Parisian museums - this was done by a German biologist named Peter Jaeger. He examined the museum's collection and discovered a giant spider in a jar of formaldehyde - it stood among numerous other exhibits. This creature, according to records, was captured in 1939 in Laos and then stored for many years in the museum's storerooms. The paw span of the found specimen was thirty centimeters. Despite this, Goliath still remains the official record holder for leg length today.

As for the arachnid found in the museum jar, this is, of course, not the only specimen. These creatures are called in science Heteropoda maxima and quite realistically live in Laos, preferring to hide in deep and dark caves. Such spiders very rarely come to the surface, their legs are 25-30 centimeters long (longer than those of Goliaths), and their abdomen is only 3-4.5 centimeters, i.e., on the contrary, less than that of the “book” record holder. Of course, these parameters were recorded based on the caught individuals - it is difficult to guess what they actually are, because lead a very secretive life. It is quite possible that there are larger options. The species of heteropods has been studied very little by scientists - again, due to the extreme secrecy of these creatures. The color of these spiders is also brown, the legs are covered with black stripes, and there are dark spots on the abdomen. The eyes are unreduced - most likely due to the fact that these arachnids constantly live in pitch darkness.

By the way, most spiders have as many as eight eyes, less often - six, and very rarely two. Spider eyes are much simpler than those of insects, but in this case nature found its way out - this is quantity. The front, medial pair of eyes in a spider is called the main one and is structured differently from the rest, the side ones. The main eyes of the spider lack an inner membrane that refracts light, but there are special muscle bundles that move the retina. The side eyes have the opposite - there is a mirror, but no muscles. Running spiders hunt using their vision, so their vision is much better developed than that of web-weaving spiders - the latter rely more on their tactile senses.

Returning to the topic of large arachnids, it is worth mentioning a species with a funny name banana spider . This creature is the largest of all those currently weaving webs. The size of the banana spider's body is four centimeters, and the span of its legs is 12 centimeters. Interestingly, even small birds sometimes get caught in the net of this predator, and local fishermen use it to catch fish (!). Of course, this is not done in the literal sense: first, many spider webs are collected, then a large ball is formed from them and thrown into the water.

The banana spider, which got its name from yellow and the elongated shape of its abdomen, lives in America. In general, this name means two completely various types- This Phoneutria(South and Central America) and Nephila Clavipes(North America), however, they look a bit similar in appearance. Sometimes these spiders are also called Brazilian travelers, because they are very active and quick in action. The banana spider is one of the ten most dangerous spiders planets because of their strong poison, which can cause a person very painful sensations, definitely needed health care. There are cases of attacks by Brazilian spiders on children, which resulted in the death of the latter.

The Panama wandering spider, on the contrary, does not weave webs and moves freely, never stopping anywhere for long. These individuals are often found in homes - food boxes and belongings. This species hunts in two ways - running or jumping. By the way, this arachnid also got its name because it loves fruits, in particular bananas. Its main diet consists of birds, lizards, insects and other spiders, which can even exceed it in size.

The largest spiders are found here, as well as in Ukraine and Central Asia- This South Russian tarantulas. This species belongs to the family known as wolf spiders. The body size of such a spider is about 3.5-4 centimeters, all of it is densely covered with gray hairs.

Tarantulas live mainly in burrows up to half a meter deep. These arachnids feed on large beetles, but can bite humans if disturbed. The bite will be quite painful, but not fatal.

Giant spiders lived back in the era of dinosaurs and then their size was not something incredible. As for our time, you can still meet such spiders, although for many people meeting them will cause either panic or admiration.

Next we will talk about one of these spiders - the Goliath tarantula or Blond's theraphosis. It is he who is one of the largest spiders in the world, since the length of his body in the leg span can reach 28 centimeters!

This formidable predator is quite widespread in the tropical forests of some countries. South America, namely in northern Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. It is most often found in damp, swampy areas.

The body of the spider consists of the cephalothorax and abdominal sections. The eyes and eight legs make up the cephalothorax of the spider. The abdominal organ includes the spinal organ, heart and genitals. Excretory system passes through the entire body of the spider. The abdominal part of the female has an egg chamber.

Despite the fact that the spider has poor eyesight, it is able to see in the dark. Like all tarantulas, the goliath is a carnivore. Sitting quietly in ambush, it lies in wait for its prey, then pounces on it using its fangs.

Although the spider is called a tarantula, it does not feed on birds. It’s just that the spider was seen for the first time when it was eating a bird. Vertebrates and invertebrates such as mice, lizards, small snakes, beetles, and butterflies are the main diet of the goliath.

Representatives of the goliath tarantula who are 3 years old are considered adults (mature). Sometimes after mating, the female eats her “favorite”. The goliath has sharp spines on the first pair of limbs, which serve as its protection from the female. The male lives on average about 6 years. The female can be up to 14 years old.

The female lays from 200 to 400 eggs, which she incubates for two months. After the little spiders are born, the mother spider looks after them for several weeks, after which they lead an independent lifestyle.

The goliath tarantula is distinguished by aggressive character traits. Sensing danger, it emits a peculiar hissing sound due to the friction of the bristles on its legs. Fangs, the length of which is a couple of centimeters, as well as burning villi serve as protection. The fangs are poisonous, but not very toxic compared to other poisonous insects.

The refuge for these spiders are deep burrows, which previously served as a home for small rodents until they met their current owner. The entrance to the burrow is protected by cobwebs, and all the walls from the inside are also shrouded in it. Females spend most of their lives here, coming out only at night to hunt and during mating. Leave the house at for a long time not in their rules. Often spiders hunt nearby and drag the prey to their lair.

Besides size, there is another difference between male and female. The males have small hooks on their front legs, with which he holds the female’s huge chelicerae during mating, saving his life in this way. The color of these spiders is most often dark brown, and there are reddish-brown hairs on their legs. Because of these numerous hairs, which also cover the entire body, these spiders are also jokingly called “fluffy”.

But this is not a decoration at all, but one of the means of protection against uninvited guests. The fact is, when these hairs get on the skin, lungs or mucous membranes of the mouth and nose, they cause severe irritation. In order for the “weapon” to reach its target, the spiders brush hairs from their abdomen in the direction of the enemy with sharp movements of their hind legs. In addition, they serve as an organ of touch for the spider. The hairs pick up the slightest vibrations of the earth and air. But they see poorly.

For a long time it was believed that the venom of the goliath tarantula is very dangerous and most often leads to death, but it turned out that this is far from the case. The effect of a spider bite can be compared to a bee sting. A small swelling appears at the site, which is accompanied by quite tolerable pain. Although for allergy sufferers its bite can be dangerous.

Spider venom has a paralyzing effect on nervous system smaller prey such as frogs, small snakes, insects, rodents, lizards and other small animals. The victim is unable to move after being bitten.

To eat, tarantulas inject digestive juice into the body of the “dinner”, which breaks down soft fabrics and allows the spider to suck out the liquid and eat the soft meat of its victim.

The most interesting thing is that the tarantula does not feed on birds. Well, if only in very rare cases, when a chick that has fallen from the nest gets in his way. The spider got its name thanks to the German entomologist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian, who was the first to sketch it. They show a spider eating a small hummingbird. This is where the name “tarantula” stuck to it. Official description This tarantula spider belongs to the entomologist Latreille (1804).

The following information may seem a little wild to you, but among local residents these spiders are a delicacy and they use not only adult specimens, but also spider eggs. As a result, the population of these animals in natural environment habitat is gradually decreasing.

This individual behaves quite aggressively and does not like to be picked up. And although the goliath’s venom is not very toxic, quite a lot of it is released.

If you have tarantula goliath, then the terrarium in which he lives will look not like a dish with soil, but like a place where a very serious animal lives. The terrarium for the spider should be spacious enough.

The terrarium can be either plastic or glass, horizontal type. The volumes should be on average 25-35 liters with a closing lid. The lid is needed to prevent your pet from suddenly deciding to take a walk outside the terrarium. Spiders should be kept separately due to their inherent cannibalism.

Sphagnum, pine sawdust, and vermiculite are used for bedding. The best solution would be to choose coconut substrate more than 5 cm as bedding. In order for the animal to have the opportunity to make a hole for itself, a coconut shell or a medium-sized piece of bark should be placed in the terrarium.

The temperature regime for normal maintenance should be within 22-26C, but they can easily tolerate a drop in temperature to 15C. The main thing is that the temperature of the engorged spider is not too low. In this case, there is a high probability of the onset of putrefactive processes of food in the spider’s stomach. Humidity should be high - 75-85%. If the humidity is insufficient, there may be a problem with the normal molting of the animal. To maintain humidity, install a water bowl and mist the terrarium regularly. Provide good ventilation, this will protect the spider from fungal infections.

The feeding process can take more than a day. The goliath spider feeds on small insects. Adults successfully cope with frogs and mice.

The feeding frequency of young spiders is twice a week, adults feed once a week, one and a half times. No need to feed young spiders too much large insects, i.e. such that would exceed the size of half the abdomen of a goliath. This can cause stress and, as a result, food refusal.

The maximum time that a goliath spider can go without food is about 6 months. But of course you shouldn’t experiment with your pet.

The most difficult period in the life of a spider is molting. At these moments you should not touch or irritate them. During molting, the Goliath tarantula and other spiders move little and do not eat anything. The regularity of shedding depends on the age of the animal. Young individuals shed regularly, but adults molt every two months or a year.

An interesting fact is that the web of tarantulas does not serve as a trap for the prey, like other representatives of this species; tarantulas are real hunters, they track and attack prey. Tarantulas wait for their prey in ambush and jump on it. This feature, as well as their coloring, has led local residents to call tarantulas “land tigers.”

Although the goliath tarantula is considered the most big spider in the world, there is still one species that surpasses it in the span of its limbs, but is significantly inferior in body size - Heteropoda maxima, whose leg span reaches 30 centimeters. Most large specimen was discovered in 2001 in Laos, in one of the caves in Khammouane province.

sources

http://www.8lap.ru

http://exomania.com.ua

http://ianimal.ru

http://quickfly.ru

Website materials used: http://masterok.livejournal.com/789435.html

Do you know how much the largest spider in the world weighs and what its size is? Can you imagine what it looks like? It is worth admitting that most people are latently, if not overtly, afraid of these arthropods. Victims of arachnophobia - an inexplicable fear of these creatures - are unlikely to be attracted by the ranking of the largest spiders in the world.

But for everyone else we offer the TOP 10 most large representatives this class.

Nephila the goldweaver

This spider lives in Asia, Australia and South America. The length of the male nephile golden moth is 10 mm, the females are larger, their size is 4 cm, and with limbs they are all 13 cm! These representatives of arthropods are yellow-green in color, and their head and belly are white.

Nephilic goldworms are very poisonous. And although their bite is not fatal, it can cause damage to human health.

Tegenaria wall

A representative of this class of arachnids can reach sizes from 7 to 14 cm. But because of its large legs, tegenaria appears even larger. This spider has a pale gray color. This arthropod is distinguished by its rapid movement over short distances.

This species is common in Asia and Africa. Tegenaria lives in caves or non-residential buildings.

Brazilian wandering spider

Another representative of arachnids - brazilian spider- is even among the ten most poisonous arthropods in the world. It is important to avoid encounters with this spider - its bite can be fatal if you do not take an antidote! The wandering spider measures 7 cm, and with its limbs its length is 17 cm.

Lives in Central and South America. Some representatives penetrate into people's homes, and there are also those that pursue prey in high leaps.

Cerbal Arabian

Scientists learned about the existence of this representative of arachnids literally 6 years ago. The body length of large individuals reaches 20 cm.

Cerbalus was discovered in Jordan and Israel, which is why it was named that way. These spiders are distinguished by their nocturnal lifestyle.

Giant baboon spider

In a giant baboon spider big sizes, some arthropods can grow up to 30 cm! However, despite this, individuals of this species are not dangerous to humans. They can only attack in self-defense.

Like most of its relatives, the baboon spider usually hunts at night. It kills its victims - various small insects and butterflies - with poison.

Purple tarantula

This giant spider, called the purple tarantula, lives primarily in the rainforests of Colombia. This individual can even eat bird meat. This spider is often kept by arthropod lovers as an exotic pet, since they are not dangerous to humans.

The size of the tarantula, including legs, is 34.5 cm, although there are smaller spiders - 26 cm.

Camel spider

These spiders got their name due to the presence of several humps on their heads, with which they resemble camels. The main food of these representatives of arthropods are lizards, rodents, and small birds. Some individuals can reach speeds of up to 16 km/h.

The length of the spider’s body including limbs is 30 cm.

Salmon pink tarantula spider

Breeders also like to grow salmon-pink tarantula spiders at home. The size of this representative of arthropods sometimes exceeds 30 cm!

Spiders feed on bird meat, lizards and small snakes. They have lightning speed and kill their prey instantly.

Giant Crab Spider

The Giant Crab Spider is another of the largest arachnids in the world. They received this name due to their enormous size - spiders grow up to 30 cm. They have a rather unpleasant appearance, and they are distinguished by their lightning-fast ability to kill a caught victim.

This spider is not particularly dangerous for people, but it is still better to beware of meeting it.

Goliath tarantula (Theraphosa Blonda)

And finally, the largest spider in the world is the Goliath tarantula (or Blonde's Theraphosa). These arthropods live in South America. This representative of the arachnids even has two-centimeter fangs. The body length of the goliath is more than 30 cm, and it weighs 200 g.

Due to its size and heavy weight, Theraphosa Blonda is considered the largest spider on the planet. Goliaths live in burrows and feed on birds, mice and snakes. Their paralytic poison has no special effect negative influence on people.

Even the smallest spider can cause panic fear. And others are not afraid to come into contact even with real eight-legged giants. Some spiders scare you with their menacing appearance, but are completely harmless, while others are vitally dangerous for animals and humans. What is he, the largest spider in the world? And which spiders are only slightly inferior to it?

Top 10 largest spiders in the world

10th position: nephila

Nephiles are the largest spiders that weave webs. Other names: giant tree spider, banana spider, golden spider. There are 30 species of goldweeds, which are striking in their size: the leg span of females reaches 12 centimeters, and the body size without legs ranges from 1 to 4 centimeters. Males are significantly smaller than females, so they are eliminated from the competition for the title of the largest spider in the world.

The web produced by the nephiles is used for fishing on the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Fishermen collect it into a lump and throw it into the water.

There are known cases of nephile goldworm attacks on humans. The venom released by the spider during a bite is toxic, but not fatal. The bite site becomes red and painful, and blisters may develop that disappear within 24 hours. The bite may cause allergic reactions and difficulty breathing in people with asthma.

9th position: wall tegenaria

One position higher is one of the types of house spiders - wall tegenaria. It is also called a giant house spider: leg span adult is 13 centimeters! But visually it is larger due to its intricately curved paws.

It is an excellent short distance runner. In addition, the tehrania kills its fellows if they compete with it for prey. Today this species of spider is rare. Their habitat covers Africa and Asia, where eight-legged arachnids inhabit abandoned buildings and caves.

Position 8: Brazilian wandering spider

The Brazilian wandering spider, which never spins a web, lives in Central and South America. He leads a wandering lifestyle, never staying in one place. Its leg span is 17 centimeters, while the length of its belly can vary between 5-7 centimeters.

There are two varieties of the Brazilian wandering arachnid: the first jumps in pursuit of prey, and the second runs. The diet includes other spiders, insects, and sometimes lizards, birds and even... bananas. Because of its love of bananas, the Brazilian wandering spider is often found in banana boxes from which it can attack. He often crawls into houses.

The poison secreted by special glands during a bite is very toxic and life-threatening. But the Brazilian wandering spider never attacks first, it only defends itself. The injured person may feel the chest being compressed and the arterial pressure. If he is not immediately injected with an antidote, death is possible.

7th position: Arabian cerbal

The Arabian cerbal is a species of spider that was not known to science until recently, namely until 2003. The maximum paw span of a cerbal is 20 centimeters, but the maximum officially recorded paw span is only 14 centimeters. The length of the abdomen is 3 centimeters. Females are always slightly larger than males.

The carapace is colored light gray, sandy or yellowish. It is densely covered with hairs. The spider's abdomen is cream-colored and has no pattern on it. The Arabian cerbal's habitat covers the desert dunes of the Arava of southern Jordan and Israel. It is active exclusively at night, and during the day the spider is forced to seek shelter.

6th position: baboon spider

The baboon spider gets its name from the resemblance of its paws to the toes of a baboon. This is one of the most poisonous spiders that live in the territory South Africa. Its body length is 13-30 millimeters, and its leg span is up to 30 centimeters and 5 millimeters. Color - shades of brown, yellow, gray, even black. A motley pattern is visible on the abdomen and carapace. The body and legs are densely covered with hairs.

The baboon spider competes for food with its conspecifics, and cannibalism often occurs. Its diet also includes small insects: beetles, ants, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers and cockroaches. He is also not averse to eating butterflies, scorpions, other spiders and termites. The baboon spider is known to even attack snails, lizards, and frogs.

The venom of the baboon spider has strong impact per person, sometimes the bite is fatal. The eight-legged giant, noticing a threat to itself, first begins to hiss like a snake, and then attacks: this is one of the most aggressive spiders. Its bite is very painful: a strong burning pain is felt at the site of the bite. A couple of hours after the bite, the person develops shock, vomiting, and partial paralysis of the body.

5 position: Colombian purple tarantula spider

The Colombian purple tarantula is found in countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama. The belly of this giant reaches 80-100 millimeters in size, while the maximum officially confirmed leg span is 34 centimeters and 5 millimeters. In captivity, the leg span rarely reaches more than 24 centimeters. This type of spider is very rare.

The main color of the Colombian tarantula is velvety black, but a purple tint is clearly visible on the legs. The carapace has a star-shaped pattern. The purple tarantula eats various insects, mice and frogs. But it is completely safe for humans.

4th position: phalanx spider

The phalanx spider is a very amazing spider, which is often called a camel spider, a bichor spider, and also a salpuga. The phalanx spider is not even exactly a spider, but this animal is very similar in appearance, so scientists classify it as an arachnid. Its leg span may be 12 inches, but it is possible that this is not the limit. The salpuga has several humps on its head: it is because of them that it is compared to a camel. The bihor lives in the Gobi Desert, Transcaucasia and the Northern Caucasus, the Lower Volga region, Astrakhan, Spain and Greece. Perhaps the phalanx does not live only in Australia and Antarctica.

The salpuga's diet includes rodents, lizards and even small birds. Spiders can reach speeds of 16 kilometers per hour while chasing prey. The phalanx often attacks a person. It has no poison, however, through a bite, rotting remains from past victims of the salpug can enter the human bloodstream. This promotes blood poisoning. The bite itself is very painful.

Most often, the salpuga attacks tourists in a tent. To avoid being bitten, you need to inspect it before going to sleep in a tent. If there is a phalanx spider in it, then it will be useless to drive it out. He will either need to be caught and released, or killed. Moreover, no one has yet managed to crush it on the sand. If the salpuga does bite, the bite site is washed generously with any antiseptic that happens to be half your hand, even vodka. When suppuration occurs, antibiotics must be taken.

3rd position: salmon pink tarantula spider

The salmon pink tarantula is one of the few spiders that people keep as pets. This species of tarantula is characterized gigantic size, each adult has a leg span of more than 30 centimeters. In other species, only individual specimens can have such colossal sizes. The spider body itself can reach 9-10 centimeters in length and weigh 100 grams. The tarantula is colored black, which gradually turns into grey colour. They call it salmon pink for the characteristic color of the places where the members of the furry legs connect.

The diet of the salmon-pink tarantula spider is based on insects; mice and lizards are less common prey. Since this type of tarantula is not so aggressive, it is often kept at home as a pet. But you need to protect your eyes: for the purpose of self-defense, the spider can throw off stinging hairs, which can cause allergic reactions in sensitive people.

2nd position: giant crab spider

The giant crab, or crab-shaped, spider is common throughout the Australian continent. As a rule, the crab spider lives under the bark of tree trunks, hides under stones or sits in the shade on the walls of houses. The leg span of the crab spider is slightly larger than the leg span of the salmon-pink tarantula spider, but it looks smaller due to its smaller body, which is covered with sparse hair. The leg span exceeds 30 centimeters.

The two rear pairs of legs of the crab spider are significantly shorter than the front ones. It resembles a crab not only in appearance, but also in its ability to move not only forward, but also to the side. The body can have a variety of colors, but most often it is gray, black or brown.

The crab spider's diet includes insects and arthropods, small frogs and lizards. For the purpose of self-defense, the “crab” can attack a person. The venom released during a bite is toxic, but practically safe for people. The bite itself is painful. After it, painful local swelling forms and may develop headache and nausea.

1st position: Goliath tarantula

The Goliath tarantula is rightfully recognized as the largest spider in the world, because its leg span exceeds 30 centimeters and, as a rule, it is larger than that of any other spider. The weight of an adult female can reach 120 grams, while females are significantly larger than males. The body color is all shades of brown, and there are specific markings on the legs. The legs and body of the goliath tarantula are covered with hairs of varying lengths.

The Goliath tarantula is common in tropical forests native to South America. It is usually found in swampy, wet places. Despite the fact that he has rather poor eyesight, the goliath can see well in the dark. Like all tarantulas, this species of tarantula is a carnivore. It ambushes its prey and then pounces on it, piercing its sharp fangs. This spider is not called a tarantula for nothing, since it does not feed on birds: its diet consists of butterflies, frogs, mice, lizards and even small snakes.

The goliath tarantula is quite aggressive, so you need to be very careful when contacting it. If the goliath detects a threat, a hissing and chirping noise can be heard that precedes the attack. The bite is very painful, and swelling usually forms in its place. You need to be afraid of burning hairs, which can cause an asthma attack and allergic reactions.

Thus, a large spider does not mean dangerous. Of course, among the giant spiders there are poisonous and life-threatening animals. But more often they are quite harmless, so they are bred at home as exotic pets.

Have you ever wondered what the world's largest spider looks like? Let's face it, most people have an irrational or overwhelming fear of spiders.

photo:Radha

Whether you're an actual arachnophobe, or simply don't like 8-legged creatures, or perhaps, on the other hand, you're simply fascinated by them, the sight of the world's largest spider is sure to grab your attention. Undoubtedly, most of us are scared by the sight of even the smallest spider, imagine what will happen when meeting the world's largest spider! Largest spiders appear before us in all forms, so let's take a look at 10 of these spiders and see what we're really dealing with. It's always best to start with the least scary of hair-raising situations, so let's start with the 10th largest spider and work our way up to the world's largest.

10. Wall tegenaria (lat. Tegenaria)

photo: Carlos Galeano

Approaching 15 cm in size, this spider is quite rare in our time. Native to Europe, it is found in North Africa, Central Asia, Uruguay and Argentina. In England, this creepy, brown spider is called the "Cardinal Spider" because Cardinal Wolsey was rumored to be terribly afraid of this species of spider. An interesting fact about these spiders is that their legs are about three times longer than their 3-inch body, making them even creepier than they already are.

9. Nephila the gold weaver

photo: Toshihiro Gamo

This spider is often compared to Nephila Jurassica, the largest known extinct spider that lived approximately 165 million years ago! Female golden moths, known for their silkworming ability, reach 17 cm, including legs. Their coloration ranges from reddish to greenish-yellow, and their head and abdomen are distinctly white. Living in some of the most warm regions in the world, these spiders are found in Australia, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. Named for the golden webs they spin, these spiders love to live in shops and homes, and are excellent natural pest control specialists.

8. Cerbal Arabian

One of newest types spiders, these “little” guys can reach up to 20 cm if we include their legs. Discovered in 2010, this spider is found in Israel and Jordan and lives in sand dunes and along the edges of salt marshes. These spiders are nocturnal and typically active during the hottest summer months, but much of their habitat and behavior is an unexplored mystery. The body of this large spider is silver-gray, and the legs shimmer with black and silver, definitely his distinguishing feature, without which it is impossible to imagine this spider!

7. Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria fera)

photo: Alberto Rossettini

With legs almost 16 cm long and a body 5 cm long, these spiders begin to scare us with their size. Add to that that they are one of the most poisonous species in the world, and we have a deadly combination. They live in the tropics of South and Central America, they are called “wanderers”, because of their habit of wandering through the jungle in search of prey. While some members of this species are more dangerous than others, they are all highly poisonous and should be avoided at all costs.

6. Hysterocrates – Giant Baboon Spider

A member of the tarantula family, this large spider can reach up to 30 cm, including 8 inches of legs. They are often kept as pets because these spiders do not pose a threat to human life, despite the fact that they look terrifying. They live in subtropical and tropical zones, these spiders are nocturnal hunters, and often prey on mammals, birds, reptiles, wasps and amphibians.

5. Purple tarantula spider (lat. Theraphosidae)

photo: Andreas Kay

Known for eating birds, this spider's body is just over 9 inches long, but that's not the limit. Native to Colombia, this spider lives in very humid tropical forests. The picture of a spider eating a bird is frightening in itself, but it should be noted that this spider is not a threat to humans.

4. Camel spider (lat. Solifugae)

Camel spiders are also called sun spiders or sun scorpions and belong to the class Arachnidae, which has over 1,000 species. They got their name from their hump-shaped head, not from their close relationship to camels! Their diet includes insects, lizards, rodents and small birds, some individuals can reach 12 inches in length including legs.

3. Goliath tarantula (lat. Theraphosa blondi)

photo: Ryan Somma

A member of the tarantula family, this spider is one of the world's largest spiders, reaching a leg span of 12 inches. Found in the rainforests of South America, these spiders can weigh up to 6 ounces; The female's lifespan is 15 to 25 years, while the male typically lives only 3 to 6 years. Although they have fangs that can bite through human skin, their venom is fairly harmless, and spiders only attack when they feel threatened.

2. Brazilian salmon-pink tarantula spider

Discovered in Brazil in 1917, these tarantulas are often kept as pets and are among the largest tarantulas in the world. reaching up to 12 inches in length, these spiders are known to prey on small snakes. Although these spiders are gaining popularity as pets, due to their speed and erratic behavior, they are not the best choice for newbies.

1. Hunter Spider

photo: Tero Laakso

The largest spider in the world is the huntsman spider, also known as the giant crab spider. The leg span can reach up to 12 inches in length, and they are perhaps the most unique looking spiders. Their legs are curved like a crab's (hence their nickname), and they are incredibly agile when hunting. They generally pose no threat to human life, but their ugly, huge appearance is enough to make even the most affable spider lover shudder.